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Prince Peerless
The Prince Peerless is a Japanese 6.5×9 folding plate camera sold from 1934, certainly by the distributor Fukada Shōkai, owner of the Prince brand name and of the P.C.W. logo found on an advertisement. Release date: Lewis, p.48, where the camera is attributed to Fukada Shōkai and mistakenly called "Price Peerless". P.C.W. logo visible in the advertisement dated July 1935 reproduced in , p.90. Some modern sources attribute the camera to Fujimoto, which later manufactured the Semi Prince for Fukada, but this is unconfirmed. Attribution to Fujimoto: , item 1227, , p.331. (See the Prince page for a discussion of the various cameras with that name.) Description of the body The Prince Peerless is a copy of the Plan Primar, a German camera made by Bentzin. The metal body is very thin when folded, with a bulging folding bed. A nameplate is riveted inside, marked PRINCE PEERLESS and MADE IN JAPAN. There is a swivelling brilliant finder attached to the front standard. This brilliant finder must be folded flat to fit in the very thin body, as appears in this page by Minosan. There is also a folding frame finder made of two parts: a wireframe attached to the lens standard and a simple pin articulated to the body. There is a handle on top of the body and the folding bed release is placed on the same side as the frame finder. There is a tripod screw on the opposite side and another one under the body. Focusing is done by a small wheel on the right of the folding bed, with a focusing scale on the left. It seems that some limited vertical movement is available, and a spirit level is attached to the brilliant finder support. Commercial life The advertisement in the July 1935 issue of says that the Prince Peerless was available from ¥78 in several versions, but it does not give a list. Advertisement reproduced in , p.90. The last reported advertisement for the Prince Peerless is dated October 1936. , p.340. Actual examples Actual examples have been observed with the following lens and shutter combinations: * Schneider Radionar 10.5cm f/4.5 lens, Perfect shutter (1–200, B, T) by Neumann & Heilemann; Example pictured in , item 1227, and example observed in an online auction. Combination also reported in Lewis, p.48, and in , p.340. * Schneider Radionar 10.5cm f/4.5 lens, Compur shutter (T, B, 1–250). Example pictured in this page by Minosan, example pictured in Lewis, p.48, example observed in a Japanese website which is currently dead, and example observed in an online auction. Serial numbers for the Radionar lens are known in the 588xxx range. Examples observed in online auctions. The combination of a Carl Zeiss Tessar f/4.5 lens and a Compur shutter has been reported too, but it is unconfirmed. Combination reported in Lewis, p.48. One example has been observed in an online auction with a Tessar 12cm f/4.5 and a Compur, but the shutter has a Zeiss–Ikon plate screwed above the lens and an added ASA synch socket, and the lens and shutter unit is surely not original. Notes Bibliography * Item 224. * P.48. * P.331. * Item 1227. Links In Japanese: * Prince Peerless at Minosan's website Category: Japanese 6.5x9 folding Category: Nobility Category: P Category: 1934